Dog Angel: Poems

by Jesse Lee Kercheval

In a collection of autobiographical poems, the poet traces the timelines of her life with calm wisdom, including a cross-country drive to bury her mother's ashes and an imagined final exam given by her children. Original.

Genres: Poetry

88 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the second half of this collection more than the first (hence it's not a 5 star), but there are some really beautiful poems in here. The metaphors and imagery captured ache with meaning.

My favorites are as follows:
"Magdalena at the Prado"
"3 Reflections God Might See in My Living-Room Window"
"When the dead come back,"
"Pump"
"The Great Molasses Flood"

To further convince you, here are some selections of favorite lines:

They shot Him and pushed Him
through the open window of His own church.
God is dead, but he bled and bled
and did not go easily.
-Enter Mecca

I got up (again) &
made coffee & ate bread--
taking one small bite
for each of my dead.
A bite, too, for each
stranger. My mouth
the earth, the bread
the world. A kind of toast
communion. I chewed
& chewed. I'm chewing
still. The bread
their bones, my mouth
the grave. Open &
hard to fill.
-Bread

Understand, the dead
are not angels. Angels
are God's messengers
who take human form
only to bring
the kind of news
no human
wants to hear.
They put on flesh
like rented ball gowns.
The dead put on theirs
like old clothes left
on the chair
the night before--
when they went to bed
late & exhausted.
-When the dead come back,

This is what I think--to love
is to be a heart pushing
blood through the universe.
-Pump

[Wendy Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death of a parent; death of tow parents; child rearing. Interesting experiments in form: The Rental Car and a great flip-flop first line:

After the porno theater became a revival house

well worth a reading

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as 3.5 stars.

Beautiful language. Spiritual and aching.

Will probably creep higher with rereadings. I definitely plan to read more by this author.

[AJ Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book of poetry. Some great poems, some that weren't my cup of tea, but overall good book.

[Del Rosario · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was something about the authors relationship with God that resonated with me about my own.